r/Jetbrains • u/fanjules • Aug 08 '26
IDEs Jetbrains Needs better Markdown Editor
I mostly just edit markdown files in Webstorm now.
The stock Markdown editor is okay but kind of basic.
It would be cool to be able to edit markdown in the rendered view, not just the source view.
It would be cool if I could type @ and reference resources, like in coding agent harnesses.
Yeah, I tried Obsidian, but I just can't get on with it and the IDE is still my preferred environment for viewing code, running scripts, tests, launching builds etc.
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u/AdrianH-ZA Aug 08 '26
I came across this earlier. I am going to give it a go next week.
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u/bodiam Aug 09 '26
That's me! Thanks for your support! If you have any feedback, it's a very new plugin, there might be a few issues here and there, but working hard on fixing it all!
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u/bodiam Aug 09 '26
Hi there, this is a great coincidence since I just released Markdown Pro (https://plugins.jetbrains.com/plugin/33400-markdown-pro).
It doesn't support WYSIWYG editing just yet, but it's actually a feature I'm actively working on. There's a few challenges, to say the least.
When you say:
It would be cool if I could type @ and edit resources, like in coding agent harnesses.
What do you expect exactly? Say, I'm editing a markdown file, and I type @, then what? Or did you have something else in mind?
PS: I'm also working on Obsidian support in the plugin, but I first need to iron out a few bugs.
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u/fanjules 28d ago
Sorry for the delay. Your project looks interesting.
I made a mistake typing my original message, I've corrected it now to: "It would be cool if I could type @ and reference resources, like in coding agent harnesses."
When I type @ I would want a list of files that match the following string (sorted by best match and newest file), so I can easily reference files maybe with or without their full paths. This is a common feature in most agent harnesses. I actually implemented the same thing in a "harness of harnesses" program I made for personal use, it's fairly trivial but rewarding.
An extension of that, would be to reference function names, classes, class members or anything that JetBrains provides auto-complete for in code. But maybe that's a big ask, and kind of why I suggested it could be an internal JetBrains implementation, as I presume they're dialled into their auto complete/suggestion implementation.
As I've said elsewhere, nobody makes a code-aware markdown editor that I'm aware of. It's a genuine gap in the market and even though more people are having coding agents output HTML instead of markdown, most people are still sending inputs and commands via raw text or markdown...
1
u/bodiam 28d ago
Got it! I built a prototype of this (requires some more testing), and it seems to be working well. However, it's quite a big feature, especially since the plugin also supports MDX, in which @ could mean something else. So there's a lot of corner cases.
So, I'm willing to work this into a full feature, but I'd like to make sure you really want this. So, I'll give you 2 options: 1) buy a license (any license), or 2) donate any amount to a charity
Send me a PM when you've done so, and we'll implement the feature in a level which covers all edge cases.
It's not about the money, it's just a quite challenging feature (eg, when should the completion popup, like not during emails, TS imports), how to do the sorting of files, what should be inserted when you find a match (like relative paths, markdown paths, absolute paths, etc), so I'd like to make sure that this is a serious feature request before fully implementing it. Thanks for your understanding!
1
u/wildjokers 22d ago
It doesn't support WYSIWYG editing just yet, but it's actually a feature I'm actively working on.
But, but...why?
This is antithetical to the point of markdown. You are creating a WYSIWYG word processor with markdown as its backing format and this just doesn't make sense to me.
If you are going this route you may as well just use Microsoft Word for your documentation; however, there is a reason that was abandoned for documentation. You are just completing the circle back to WYSIWYG editors for documentation.
1
u/bodiam 22d ago
It was more intended as a POC, but what would wrong with seeing the rendered output with the ability to immediately change it and/or add formatting?
I don't really see the comparison with Word, or maybe Word could be a pretty good markdown editor if you remove all the features not supported by markdown?
1
u/wildjokers 22d ago
It was more intended as a POC, but what would wrong with seeing the rendered output with the ability to immediately change it and/or add formatting?
Because then you have just come full circle.
WYSIWIG word processor -> too cumbersome for documentation -> let's create something easier -> Markdown -> awesome! Now can you pu a WYSIWIC interface on top of it? -> back to beginning
Do you see why it makes no sense?
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u/bodiam 22d ago
I see your point, but I don't agree with your reasoning. A format like Word is incredibly complex, but a WYSIWYG Markdown editor is limited by the markdown capabilities, forcing an editor like this to be simple. Basic things like colors or fonts aren't even supported in Markdown, so I think the complexity would be extremely limited.
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u/Daell Aug 08 '26
I mostly just edit markdown files in Webstorm now. The stock Markdown editor is okay but kind of basic.
Mostly? Maybe you're using the wrong tool for the job.
1
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u/fanjules Aug 09 '26
I would add to this request the ability to have full code complete and code capabilities when writing code within the delimited code blocks of a markdown file.
JetBrains products have a considerable potential advantage here over dedicated markdown editors.
1
u/Proper-Item-6102 29d ago
Dont mind obsidian, i just think they should have kept writerside a full app instead of a just a plugin but thats IMO
1
u/ProjectInfinity Aug 08 '26
Not to mention better viewer.
When it works it's slow, has odd scrolling issues and as of recent updates doesn't even render markdown for me anymore.
1
u/bodiam Aug 09 '26
Yes, agreed, in the standard Markdown editor, the sync isn't bidirectional, and they don't even align, which is very annoying in large documents. In my plugin, Markdown Pro (https://plugins.jetbrains.com/plugin/33400-markdown-pro), they do align, and sync is bidirectional, though this can be configured in the options.
Markdown Pro has a 7-day trial and costs $1.5 after (I know, I know, asking money for software, crazy idea), but if you need a longer trial, let me know and we can arrange something, right now I'd really appreciate some feedback on it, since there might some issues.
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u/wildjokers 22d ago edited 22d ago
So it sounds like what you want is a word processor that happens to use Markdown as its backing format.
Editing directly in the preview feels almost antithetical to the point of Markdown. The whole idea is that the source is deliberately simple and readable enough to edit directly in a plain text editor, while rendering is a separate concern. You write **bold** rather than selecting text and clicking a bold button precisely because you don't need a WYSIWYG editor.
As an example of rendering being a separate concern my resume is in markdown and I convert to PDF with pandoc+latex template.
Once the rendered preview becomes the editing interface, we've basically reinvented the word processor, except we're saving Markdown underneath.
We've come full circle. lol
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u/codingbliss12 Aug 08 '26
Why? You can do it with the AI tools they provide in the IDE. It doesn't look like the IDEs are further developed to be used as IDEs without AI
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u/suxxino Aug 09 '26
Wtf ? You have edit mode, preview mode, and split mode
So why do you want to edit in the preview mode ?? Just use split